All people – or at least most that I meet – want their lives and work to “matter.” Sure, they want to be happy, achieve their goals, have satisfying relationships – but they also want to have “made a difference.” That’s how it should be. Not to be self-absorbed with oneself, but be seriously about… Continue reading Bible Study: Does It Matter?
Author: Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Audio Sermon for July 26, 2020 – “Not So Small After All”
Bible Study: Looking Back
One of the best ways we can understand how God is working in our lives right now is to look at what God has done in the past – not just in our lives – but in the lives of others. The Bible is a great record of that activity. THE OPEN BIBLE says “The… Continue reading Bible Study: Looking Back
Bible Study: How Do We Begin to Understand God’s Plan?
Here’s a good reminder from “THE CHRISTIAN’S GUIDE TO THE NEW LIFE” from THE OPEN BIBLE: “Although we cannot grasp how individual events fit into God’s program (Ecclesiastes 11:5), we can understand God’s basic plan in order to come to know and serve Him. Few joys can compare with realizing our place in God’s program… Continue reading Bible Study: How Do We Begin to Understand God’s Plan?